Tag: big

Oil prices firmed on Monday after data showed China’s economic slowdown was not as big as some analysts had expected, with supply cuts led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries also offering support. International Brent crude oil futures were at $62.83 per barrel at 0259, up 13 cents, or 0.2 percent, from their last close. Both oil price benchmarks had dipped into the red earlier in the session on fears that China’s 2018 economic growth figures would be weaker. China’s Septemb

Oil prices firmed on Monday after data showed China’s economic slowdown was not as big as some analysts had expected, with supply cuts led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries also offering support.

International Brent crude oil futures were at $62.83 per barrel at 0259, up 13 cents, or 0.2 percent, from their last close.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $53.92 a barrel, up 12 cents, or 0.2 percent.

Both oil price benchmarks had dipped into the red earlier in the session on fears that China’s 2018 economic growth figures would be weaker.

In an expected cooling, China’s economy grew by 6.6 percent in 2018, its slowest expansion in 28 years and down from a revised 6.8 percent in 2017, official data showed on Monday. China’s September-December 2018 growth was at 6.4 percent, down from 6.5 percent in the previous quarter.

Although the slowdown was in line with expectations and not as sharp as some analysts had expected, the cooling of the world’s number two economy casts a shadow over global growth.

Researchers at Bernstein Energy said the supply cuts led by OPEC “will move the market back into supply deficit” for most of 2019 and that “this should allow oil prices to rise to U.S. $70 per barrel before year-end from current levels of U.S.$60 per barrel.”

In the United States, energy firms cut 21 oil rigs in the week to Jan. 18, taking the total count down to 852, the lowest since May 2018, energy services firm Baker Hughes said in a weekly report on Friday.

It was biggest decline since February 2016, as drillers reacted to the 40 percent plunge in U.S. crude prices late last year.

However, U.S. crude oil production still rose by more than 2 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2018, to a record 11.9 million bpd.

With the rig count stalling, last year’s growth rate is unlikely to be repeated in 2019, although most analysts expect annual production to average well over 12 million bpd, making the United States the world’s biggest oil producer ahead of Russia and Saudi Arabia.

In that time, defense and tech stocks, have blown everybody out of the water. The S&P 500 tech, meanwhile, has spiked more than 37 percent in that time. Defense and tech stocks are not the only ones that have done well these past two years. The S&P 500 health care sector up more than 26 percent since Trump was inaugurated, led by a Nektar Therapeutics. NRG Energy, Netflix and Arista Networks round out the five-best performers in the S&P 500.

It’s been two years since Donald Trump was inaugurated as president of the United States. In that time, defense and tech stocks, have blown everybody out of the water.

The iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense (ITA) exchange-traded fund has surged more than 30 percent since Jan. 19, 2017. The S&P 500 tech, meanwhile, has spiked more than 37 percent in that time. Both sectors have easily outperformed the S&P 500, which is up 18 percent.

Gains in the ITA have been largely driven by surges in Boeing, AeroVironment and Aerojet Rocketdyne. Those three stocks have more than doubled over the past two years. Other high-flying stocks in the defense sector these past two years have are Axon Enterprise — which is up nearly 100 percent in that time — and Heico Corp., which has risen 97 percent.

In tech, Arista Networks is the best performer, surging more than 150 percent. Red Hat and Adobe have also more than doubled in that time, along with PayPal and Advanced Micro Devices.

Defense and tech stocks are not the only ones that have done well these past two years. The S&P 500 health care sector up more than 26 percent since Trump was inaugurated, led by a Nektar Therapeutics. The stock has almost quadrupled in that time, gaining nearly 280 percent, and is the best performer in the S&P 500. Abiomed, another health-care stock, is the second-best performer in the S&P 500, gaining about 200 percent. NRG Energy, Netflix and Arista Networks round out the five-best performers in the S&P 500.

Not all stocks have performed well over the past two years, however. The energy and communication services sectors are both down more than 13 percent in that time.

Vietnam is seeing big export orders in some sectors: Investor 3:44 AM ET Wed, 16 Jan 2019 | 02:06As the ongoing U.S.-China trade war threatens to dent exports from the world’s two largest economies, analysts have projected that other countries may see Chinese and American demand diverted their way. Vietnam — and Southeast Asia as a whole — is one of the places most expected to benefit from trade war-inspired buying. “It’s a bit early for Vietnam to be benefiting in a big way from trade wars,” Bi

As the ongoing U.S.-China trade war threatens to dent exports from the world’s two largest economies, analysts have projected that other countries may see Chinese and American demand diverted their way.

Vietnam — and Southeast Asia as a whole — is one of the places most expected to benefit from trade war-inspired buying. According to one investor, however, the profit so far has been slight.

“It’s a bit early for Vietnam to be benefiting in a big way from trade wars,” Bill Stoops, the chief investment officer of asset management company Dragon Capital, told CNBC on Wednesday.

The Southeast Asian nation has been touted as a possible winner in the U.S.-China trade war because of its low cost of manufacturing. Reports indicate that some companies have begun shifting production out of China to avoid tariffs imposed by America.

Vietnam will likely benefit from those adjusted supply chains for a long time, according to Rob Koepp, network director of the Economist Corporate Network.

“It is now set to be kind of a China 2.0, for various reasons, and yeah, it’s going to be benefiting and that’s going to be long term,” he told CNBC on Thursday.

While firms have likely been limited by the logistical constraints of relocating and building new facilities in Vietnam, the country has begun to see new orders “flooding” into its existing industries that have some capacity for increased production, Stoops said.

“We are already starting to see big orders, big export orders flowing, out of nowhere, into the seafood, and the furniture and the garment industry,” Stoops told CNBC’s Street Signs. “I think this is a harbinger of things to come, as people start to divert business away from China.”

“It hasn’t happened yet, but it’s definitely in the works, and we’re starting to see straws in the wind with all these new export orders,” he added.

As the earnings season continues to turn up big winners, Morgan Stanley offers a list of its best trading ideas. Earnings season kicked off this week as investors digested the first batch of numbers coming out of a slew of big banks. Fourth-quarter earnings are expected to be strong, with the Wall Street consensus seeing 14.7 percent growth. Morgan Stanley put together a list of out-of-consensus calls that will be big movers in this earnings season.

As the earnings season continues to turn up big winners, Morgan Stanley offers a list of its best trading ideas.

Earnings season kicked off this week as investors digested the first batch of numbers coming out of a slew of big banks. Fourth-quarter earnings are expected to be strong, with the Wall Street consensus seeing 14.7 percent growth. Morgan Stanley put together a list of out-of-consensus calls that will be big movers in this earnings season.

Student loan refinancing companies say they offer borrowers a way to save thousands of dollars on their debt, by allowing them to pay off their loans at a lower interest rate, in less time. Recently, the government found that online lender SoFi was misleading consumers on how much they’ll save if they refinance their student debt with them. The company’s ads boasted average discounts of more than $22,000, but in its calculations the company excluded certain borrowers for whom refinancing resulte

Student loan refinancing companies say they offer borrowers a way to save thousands of dollars on their debt, by allowing them to pay off their loans at a lower interest rate, in less time.

The reality can be much different.

Recently, the government found that online lender SoFi was misleading consumers on how much they’ll save if they refinance their student debt with them.

The company’s ads boasted average discounts of more than $22,000, but in its calculations the company excluded certain borrowers for whom refinancing resulted in a more expensive loan, the government found. In a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, SoFi agreed to stop its misrepresentations.

SoFi spokeswoman Brielle Villablanca said the company has always been committed to giving its current and prospective members clear and complete information, in a statement to CNBC.

5G in Finland: How one country is betting big on the high-speed network 1:34 AM ET Thu, 27 Dec 2018 | 03:21IBM and Vodafone will launch a new venture aimed at boosting Europe’s 5G, A.I. The venture will allow Vodafone to access all of IBM’s cloud services, while the London-based telecommunications conglomerate will provide mobile infrastructure like 5G to Big Blue. CCS Insight, a technology research company, estimates Europe will only capture 9 percent of the world’s 5G subscribers by 2023. Part

5G in Finland: How one country is betting big on the high-speed network 1:34 AM ET Thu, 27 Dec 2018 | 03:21

IBM and Vodafone will launch a new venture aimed at boosting Europe’s 5G, A.I. and cloud capabilities, the companies announced Thursday.

The venture will allow Vodafone to access all of IBM’s cloud services, while the London-based telecommunications conglomerate will provide mobile infrastructure like 5G to Big Blue.

“Bringing together this end-to-end idea from Vodafone and IBM is going to be a game-changer for our customers,” Michael Valoochi, general manager at IBM, told CNBC in a phone interview Thursday.

The announcement comes as Europe lags behind the U.S. and China in many so-called next-generation technologies like 5G. CCS Insight, a technology research company, estimates Europe will only capture 9 percent of the world’s 5G subscribers by 2023.

Partnerships between companies like IBM and Vodafone could help accelerate Europe’s foothold in new markets like cloud computing and 5G. U.S. companies are currently the biggest players in Europe’s cloud market.

All eyes will be watching Netflix Thursday as the streaming giant reports earnings after the bell. The company raised prices earlier this week 13 to 18 percent with most analysts and investors cheering the move. Since then Goldman raised their price forecast to $420 from $400 and Thursday morning, Guggenheim upped their price target to $400 from $370. The price increase caused the shares to soar and the stock is now up more than 30 percent this year going into the numbers. Here’s what some of th

All eyes will be watching Netflix Thursday as the streaming giant reports earnings after the bell.

The company raised prices earlier this week 13 to 18 percent with most analysts and investors cheering the move. Since then Goldman raised their price forecast to $420 from $400 and Thursday morning, Guggenheim upped their price target to $400 from $370.

The price increase caused the shares to soar and the stock is now up more than 30 percent this year going into the numbers.

A resolution on trade between the world’s two biggest economies could be a big catalyst for a relief rally in the stock market. There has been mixed feedback on the trade talks — Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said recently that U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer saw no progress on key issues, while President Donald Trump tweeted about “big progress” with China. In the latest development, China’s vice premier, Liu He, has accepted an invitation to Washington this month for trade talks. Fe

A resolution on trade between the world’s two biggest economies could be a big catalyst for a relief rally in the stock market. BlackRock Chairman and CEO Larry Fink said Wednesday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” that there would be “a surge in investment sentiment” if both sides call off tariffs on each other’s goods.

Washington and Beijing reached a 90-day truce last month to halt any new levies as they seek to work up a long-term deal through negotiations. There has been mixed feedback on the trade talks — Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said recently that U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer saw no progress on key issues, while President Donald Trump tweeted about “big progress” with China. In the latest development, China’s vice premier, Liu He, has accepted an invitation to Washington this month for trade talks.

Fears of a full-on trade war with China have been on top of investors’ minds for months. The volatile stock market suffered its worst year since the financial crisis in 2018, with the S&P 500 tanking a whopping 14 percent in the fourth quarter. U.S. companies have also sounded alarms on the trade war’s impact on their business.

To be sure, this is lining up to be a risky binary trade. These names (and the whole market) could be hit hard if there is not a trade deal.

If the negotiations go nowhere and a 25 percent tariff is imposed on all Chinese goods, HSBC estimated 4.5 percentage points would be subtracted from 2019 earnings growth, more than halving the growth rate from current levels, Laidler said in the note.

Neel Kashkari, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis and a critic of big banks, on Wednesday said the biggest U.S. banks are “unquestionably” safer than they were before the 2007-2009 financial crisis. The Fed’s ability to use monetary policy to safeguard the financial system is about even with the pre-crisis era, he also said, because although low interest rates mean the Fed has less room to cut to offset a downturn, the Fed now has plenty of experience with non-traditional tools

Neel Kashkari, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis and a critic of big banks, on Wednesday said the biggest U.S. banks are “unquestionably” safer than they were before the 2007-2009 financial crisis.

The Fed’s ability to use monetary policy to safeguard the financial system is about even with the pre-crisis era, he also said, because although low interest rates mean the Fed has less room to cut to offset a downturn, the Fed now has plenty of experience with non-traditional tools like quantitative easing that it can use as well.

Kashkari made the comments in a public debate held by Intelligence Squared U.S. in New York City, in which he and Harvard University professor Jason Furman were defending the notion that the financial system is safer than it was 10 years ago.

For investors who have been jockeying for the right way to play the U.S.-China trade deal, here’s your game plan if the light at the end of the tunnel gets here. A resolution on trade between the world’s two biggest economies could be a big catalyst for a relief rally in the stock market. Washington and Beijing reached a 90-day truce last month to halt any new levies as they seek to work up a long-term deal through negotiations. There has been mixed feedback on the trade talks — Sen. Chuck Grass

For investors who have been jockeying for the right way to play the U.S.-China trade deal, here’s your game plan if the light at the end of the tunnel gets here.

A resolution on trade between the world’s two biggest economies could be a big catalyst for a relief rally in the stock market. BlackRock Chairman and CEO Larry Fink said Wednesday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” that there would be “a surge in investment sentiment” if both sides call off tariffs on each other’s goods.

Washington and Beijing reached a 90-day truce last month to halt any new levies as they seek to work up a long-term deal through negotiations. There has been mixed feedback on the trade talks — Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said recently that U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer saw no progress on key issues, while President Donald Trump tweeted about “big progress” with China. In the latest development, China’s vice premier, Liu He, has accepted an invitation to Washington this month for trade talks.